The Riyadh police department has arrested 866 illegal expatriates including 20 women in three districts over the first few days of the government’s latest crackdown on violators of residency and labor laws. The raids included officials from the labor and commerce ministries, and Riyadh municipality, and took place in the Batha, Sulay and industrial area. According to the police, most were from Yemen and Ethiopia. The women were mainly Ethiopians working illegally as housemaids. On the first day of the campaign, the police arrested 341 people, followed by 250 on the second day and the rest on the third day. Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar had overseen the operations. The suspects included workers without resident permits, people working in jobs not stated on their permits, and others employed by people who were not their sponsors. There were several who had been declared absconders, and others hawking products at public markets. -